hollow out
phrasal verb
hollowed out; hollowing out; hollows out
1
: to remove the inside of (something) : to make an empty space in (something)
The kids were hollowing out pumpkins.
a hollowed-out log
2
: to form (something) by digging or cutting the inside of something
Workers hollowed out a tunnel through the mountain.
Examples of hollow out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The department cannot be dissolved without an act of Congress, though the administration could continue to hollow out the department by firing more staff.
—
Peter Greene, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
The results, published this week in Science Translational Medicine, are another step in the long effort to thwart the gruesome germ, which finds a way to violently hollow out innards wherever people go—from restaurants to natural wonders and even the high seas.
—Ars Technica, 6 Mar. 2025
Now, the potential weakening of the nation’s public health system threatens to hollow out Atlanta’s influence.
—Alan Blinder, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
But whereas Orban has been able to systematically hollow out the democratic state in Hungary, Trump’s attempts to do so in the United States face significantly greater constraints.
—BÁlint Madlovics, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hollow out
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Peter Greene, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
The results, published this week in Science Translational Medicine, are another step in the long effort to thwart the gruesome germ, which finds a way to violently hollow out innards wherever people go—from restaurants to natural wonders and even the high seas.
—Ars Technica, 6 Mar. 2025
Now, the potential weakening of the nation’s public health system threatens to hollow out Atlanta’s influence.
—Alan Blinder, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
But whereas Orban has been able to systematically hollow out the democratic state in Hungary, Trump’s attempts to do so in the United States face significantly greater constraints.
—BÁlint Madlovics, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hollow out
Cite this Entry
“Hollow out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hollow%20out. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
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